Systems and methods for determining a reserve time of a monobloc

ABSTRACT

A method of determining a reserve time of a monobloc includes detecting, by a voltage sensor, an end of discharge voltage of the monobloc after a deep discharge of the monobloc. The method further includes receiving, by a processor, the end of discharge voltage of the monobloc. The method further includes determining or receiving, by the processor, a duration of the deep discharge. The method further includes calculating, by the processor, a discharge reserve time of the monobloc based on the end of discharge voltage and the duration of the deep discharge.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to, and the benefit of: U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/538,622 filed on Jul. 28, 2017entitled “ENERGY STORAGE DEVICE, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING ANDPERFORMING DIAGNOSTICS ON POWER DOMAINS”; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/659,929 filed on Apr. 19, 2018 entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR MONITORING BATTERY PERFORMANCE”; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/660,157 filed on Apr. 19, 2018 entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR ANALYSIS OF MONITORED TRANSPORTATION BATTERY DATA”; and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/679,648 filed on Jun. 1, 2018entitled “DETERMINING THE STATE OF CHARGE OF A DISCONNECTED BATTERY”.The contents of each of the foregoing applications are herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes (except for any subjectmatter disclaimers or disavowals, and except to the extent that theincorporated material is inconsistent with the express disclosureherein, in which case the language in this disclosure controls).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to monitoring of energy storagedevices, and in particular systems and methods for determining a reservetime of a monobloc based on at least one of detected temperatures orvoltages corresponding to the monobloc.

BACKGROUND

Lead acid energy storage devices are prevalent and have been used in avariety of applications for well over 100 years. In some instances,these energy storage devices have been monitored to assess a conditionof the energy storage device. Nevertheless, these prior art monitoringtechniques typically are complex enough and sufficiently costly as tolimit their use, and to limit the amount of data that is obtained,particularly in low value remote applications. For example, there isgenerally insufficient data about the history of a specific energystorage device over the life of its application. Moreover, in smallnumbers, some energy storage devices are coupled to sensors to collectdata about the energy storage system, but this is not typical of largenumbers of devices and/or in geographically dispersed systems. Often thelimited data obtained via prior art monitoring is insufficient tosupport analysis, actions, notifications and determinations that mayotherwise be desirable. Similar limitations exist for non-lead-acidenergy storage devices. In particular, these batteries, due to theirhigh energy and power have entered various new mobile applications thatare not suitable for traditional monitoring systems. Accordingly, newdevices, systems and methods for monitoring energy storage devices (andbatteries in particular) remain desirable, for example for providing newopportunities in managing one or more energy storage devices, includingin diverse and/or remote geographic locations.

SUMMARY

In an example embodiment, a method of determining a reserve time of amonobloc includes detecting, by a voltage sensor, an end of dischargevoltage of the monobloc after a deep discharge of the monobloc. Themethod further includes receiving, by a processor, the end of dischargevoltage of the monobloc. The method further includes determining orreceiving, by the processor, a duration of the deep discharge. Themethod further includes calculating, by the processor, a dischargereserve time of the monobloc based on the end of discharge voltage andthe duration of the deep discharge.

In another example embodiment, a system for determining a reserve timeof a monobloc includes a voltage sensor configured to detect an end ofdischarge voltage of the monobloc after a deep discharge of themonobloc. The system further includes a processor coupled to the voltagesensor and configured to receive the end of discharge voltage of themonobloc. The processor is also configured to determine or receive aduration of the deep discharge. The processor is further configured tocalculate a discharge reserve time of the monobloc based on the end ofdischarge voltage and the duration of the deep discharge.

In another example embodiment, a method of determining a reserve time ofa monobloc includes detecting, by a voltage sensor, an end of dischargevoltage of the monobloc after a deep discharge of the monobloc. Themethod further includes receiving, by a processor, the end of dischargevoltage of the monobloc. The method further includes determining orreceiving, by the processor, a duration of the deep discharge. Themethod further includes estimating, by the processor, a state of chargeof the monobloc based on the end of discharge voltage. The methodfurther includes calculating, by the processor, a discharge reserve timeof the monobloc based on the end of discharge voltage, the duration ofthe deep discharge, and the state of charge of the monobloc. The methodfurther includes calculating, by the processor, an estimated reservetime of the monobloc based on the discharge reserve time of themonobloc.

The contents of this section are intended as a simplified introductionto the disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of any claim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1A illustrates a monobloc having a battery monitor circuit disposedtherein, in accordance with various embodiments

FIG. 1B illustrates a monobloc having a battery monitor circuit coupledthereto, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2A illustrates a battery comprising multiple monoblocs, with eachmonobloc having a battery monitor circuit disposed therein, inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2B illustrates a battery comprising multiple monoblocs, with thebattery having a battery monitor circuit coupled thereto, in accordancewith various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method of monitoring a battery in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 4A illustrates a battery monitoring system, in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 4B illustrates a battery monitoring system, in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 4C illustrates a battery operating history matrix having columnsrepresenting a range of voltage measurements, and rows representing arange of temperature measurements, in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 4D illustrates a battery having a battery monitor circuit disposedtherein or coupled thereto, the battery coupled to a load and/or to apower supply, and in communicative connection with various local and/orremote electronic systems, in accordance with various embodiments; and

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a method for determining a reserve time of amonobloc based on at least one of a detected voltage or a detectedtemperature of the monobloc, in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description shows embodiments by way of illustration,including the best mode. While these embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theprinciples of the present disclosure, it should be understood that otherembodiments may be realized and that logical, mechanical, chemical,and/or electrical changes may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of principles of the present disclosure. Thus, the detaileddescription herein is presented for purposes of illustration only andnot of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the methoddescriptions may be executed in any suitable order and are not limitedto the order presented.

Moreover, for the sake of brevity, certain sub-components of individualcomponents and other aspects of the system may not be described indetail herein. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical couplings may be present in apractical system, for example a battery monitoring system. Suchfunctional blocks may be realized by any number of suitable componentsconfigured to perform specified functions.

Principles of the present disclosure improve the operation of a battery,for example by eliminating monitoring components such as a currentsensor which can drain a battery of charge prematurely. Further, abattery monitoring circuit may be embedded within the battery at thetime of manufacture, such that it is capable of monitoring the batteryand storing/transmitting associated data from the first day of abattery's life until it is recycled or otherwise disposed of. Moreover,principles of the present disclosure improve the operation of variouscomputing devices, such as a mobile communications device and/or abattery monitor circuit, in numerous ways, for example: reducing thememory utilized by a battery monitor circuit via compact storage ofbattery history information in a novel matrix-like database, thusreducing manufacturing expense, operating current draw, and extendingoperational lifetime of the battery monitor circuit; facilitatingmonitoring and/or control of multiple monoblocs via a single mobilecommunications device, thus improving efficiency and throughput; andreducing the amount of data transmitted across a network linking one ormore batteries and a remote device, thus freeing up the network to carryother transmitted data and/or to carry data of relevance more quickly,and also to significantly reduce communications costs.

Additionally, principles of the present disclosure improve the operationof devices coupled to and/or associated with a battery, for example acellular radio base station, an electric forklift, an e-bike, and/or thelike.

Yet further, application of principles of the present disclosuretransform and change objects in the real world. For example, as part ofan example algorithm, lead sulfate in a lead-acid monobloc is caused toconvert to lead, lead oxide, and sulfuric acid via application of acharging current, thus transforming a partially depleted lead-acidbattery into a more fully charged battery. Moreover, as part of anotherexample algorithm, various monoblocs in a warehouse may be physicallyrepositioned, recharged, or even removed from the warehouse or replaced,thus creating a new overall configuration of monoblocs in the warehouse.

It will be appreciated that various other approaches for monitoring,maintenance, and/or use of energy storage devices exist. As such, thesystems and methods claimed herein do not preempt any such fields ortechniques, but rather represent various specific advances offeringtechnical improvements, time and cost savings, environmental benefits,improved battery life, and so forth. Additionally, it will beappreciated that various systems and methods disclosed herein offer suchdesirable benefits while, at the same time, eliminating a common,costly, power-draining component of prior monitoring systems—namely, acurrent sensor. Stated another way, various example systems and methodsdo not utilize, and are configured without, a current sensor and/orinformation available therefrom, in stark contrast to nearly all priorapproaches.

In an exemplary embodiment, a battery monitor circuit is disclosed. Thebattery monitor circuit may be configured to sense, record, and/or wiredor wirelessly communicate, certain information from and/or about abattery, for example date/time, voltage and temperature information froma battery.

In an exemplary embodiment, a monobloc is an energy storage devicecomprising at least one electrochemical cell, and typically a pluralityof electrochemical cells. As used herein, the term “battery” can mean asingle monobloc, or it can mean a plurality of monoblocs that areelectrically connected in series and/or parallel. A “battery” comprisinga plurality of monoblocs that are electrically connected in seriesand/or parallel is sometimes referred to in other literature as a“battery pack.” A battery may comprise a positive terminal and anegative terminal. Moreover, in various exemplary embodiments, a batterymay comprise a plurality of positive and negative terminals. In anexemplary embodiment, a battery monitor circuit is disposed within abattery, for example positioned or embedded inside a battery housing andconnected to battery terminals via a wired connection. In anotherexemplary embodiment, a battery monitor circuit is connected to abattery, for example coupled to the external side of a battery housingand connected to the battery terminals via a wired connection.

In an embodiment, a battery monitor circuit comprises various electricalcomponents, for example a voltage sensor, a temperature sensor, aprocessor for executing instructions, a memory for storing data and/orinstructions, an antenna, and a transmitter/receiver/transceiver. Insome exemplary embodiments, a battery monitor circuit may also include aclock, for example a real-time clock. Moreover, a battery monitorcircuit may also include positioning components, for example a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver circuit.

In certain example embodiments, a battery monitor circuit may comprise avoltage sensor configured with wired electrical connections to abattery, for monitoring a voltage between a positive terminal and anegative terminal (the terminals) of the battery. Moreover, the batterymonitor circuit may comprise a temperature sensor for monitoring atemperature of (and/or associated with) the battery. The battery monitorcircuit may comprise a processor for receiving a monitored voltagesignal from the voltage sensor, for receiving a monitored temperaturesignal from the temperature sensor, for processing the monitored voltagesignal and the monitored temperature signal, for generating voltage dataand temperature data based on the monitored voltage signal and themonitored temperature signal, and for executing other functions andinstructions.

In various example embodiments, the battery monitor circuit comprises amemory for storing data, for example voltage data and temperature datafrom (and/or associated with) a battery. Moreover, the memory may alsostore instructions for execution by the processor, data and/orinstructions received from an external device, and so forth. In anexemplary embodiment, the voltage data represents the voltage across theterminals of the battery, and the temperature data represents atemperature as measured at a particular location on and/or in thebattery. Yet further, the battery monitor circuit may comprise anantenna and a transceiver, for example for wirelessly communicatingdata, such as the voltage data and the temperature data to a remotedevice, and for receiving data and/or instructions. Alternatively, thebattery monitor circuit may include a wired connection to the batteryand/or to a remote device, for example for communicating the voltagedata and the temperature data to a remote device via the wiredconnection, and/or for receiving data and/or instructions. In oneexemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit transmits the voltagedata and the temperature data wirelessly via the antenna to the remotedevice. In another exemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuittransmits the voltage data and the temperature data via a wiredconnection to the remote device. In an exemplary embodiment, the batterymonitor circuit is configured to be located external to the battery andwired electrically to the battery.

The battery monitor circuit may be formed, in one exemplary embodiment,via coupling of various components to a circuit board. In an exemplaryembodiment, the battery monitor circuit further incorporates a real-timeclock. The real-time clock may be used, for example, for preciselytiming collection of voltage and temperature data for a battery. Asdescribed herein, the battery monitor circuit may be positioned internalto the battery, and configured to sense an internal temperature of thebattery; alternatively, the battery monitor circuit may be positionedexternal to the battery, and configured to sense an external temperatureof the battery. In another exemplary embodiment, a battery monitorcircuit is positioned within a monobloc to sense an internal temperatureof a monobloc. In still another exemplary embodiment, a battery monitorcircuit is coupled to a monobloc to sense an external temperature of amonobloc. The wired and/or wireless signals from the battery monitorcircuit can be the basis for various useful actions and determinationsas described further herein.

With reference now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, in an exemplary embodiment, abattery 100 may comprise a monobloc. The monobloc may, in an exemplaryembodiment, be defined as an energy storage device. The monobloccomprises at least one electrochemical cell (not shown). In variousexample embodiments, the monobloc comprises multiple electrochemicalcells, for example in order to configure the monobloc with a desiredvoltage and/or current capability. In various exemplary embodiments, theelectrochemical cell(s) are lead-acid type electrochemical cells.Although any suitable lead-acid electrochemical cells may be used, inone exemplary embodiment, the electrochemical cells are of the absorbentglass mat (AGM) type design. In another exemplary embodiment, thelead-acid electrochemical cells are of the gel type of design. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the lead-acid electrochemical cells are ofthe flooded (vented) type of design. However, it will be appreciatedthat various principles of the present disclosure are applicable tovarious battery chemistries, including but not limited to nickel-cadmium(NiCd), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium ion, lithium cobalt oxide,lithium iron phosphate, lithium ion manganese oxide, lithium nickelmanganese cobalt oxide, lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide, lithiumtitanate, lithium sulpher, rechargeable alkaline, and/or the like, andthus the discussion herein directed to lead-acid batteries is providedby way of illustration and not of limitation.

The battery 100 may have a housing 110. For example, the battery 100 maybe configured with a sealed monobloc lead-acid energy storage case madeof a durable material. The battery 100 may further comprise a positiveterminal 101 and a negative terminal 102. The sealed case may haveopenings through which the positive terminal 101 and negative terminal102 pass.

With reference now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a battery 200 may comprise aplurality of electrically connected monoblocs, for example batteries100. The monoblocs in the battery 200 may be electrically connected inparallel and/or series. In an exemplary embodiment, the battery 200 maycomprise at least one string of monoblocs. In an exemplary embodiment, afirst string may comprise a plurality of monoblocs electricallyconnected in series. In another exemplary embodiment, a second stringmay comprise a plurality of monoblocs electrically connected in series.If there is more than one string of monoblocs in the battery, the first,second, and/or additional strings may be electrically connected inparallel. A series/parallel connection of monoblocs may ultimately beconnected to a positive terminal 201 and a negative terminal 202 of thebattery 200, for example in order to achieve a desired voltage and/orcurrent characteristic or capability for battery 200. Thus, in anexemplary embodiment, a battery 200 comprises more than one monobloc. Abattery 200 may also be referred to herein as a power domain.

The battery 200 may have a cabinet or housing 210. For example, thebattery 200 may comprise thermal and mechanical structures to protectthe battery and provide a suitable environment for its operation.

With reference now to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B, in an exampleapplication, a battery 100/200 may be used for back-up power (also knownas an uninterrupted power supply or UPS). Moreover, the battery 100/200may be used in a cellular radio base station application and may beconnected to a power grid (e.g., to alternating current via arectifier/inverter, to a DC microgrid, and/or the like). In anotherexemplary embodiment, the battery 100/200 is connected to an AC powergrid and used for applications such as peak shaving, demand management,power regulation, frequency response, and/or reactive power supply. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the battery 100/200 is connected to adrive system providing motive power to various vehicles (such asbicycles), industrial equipment (such as forklifts), and on-road light,medium and heavy-duty vehicles. In other example applications, thebattery 100/200 may be used for any suitable application where energystorage is desired on a short or long-term basis. The battery 100/200may be shipped in commerce as a unitary article, shipped in commercewith other monoblocs (such as on a pallet with many other monoblocs), orshipped in commerce with other monoblocs as part of a battery (forexample, multiple batteries 100 forming a battery 200).

In an exemplary embodiment, a battery monitor circuit 120 may bedisposed within and internally connected to the battery 100;alternatively, a battery monitor circuit 120 may be coupled to andexternally connected to the battery 100/200. In an exemplary embodiment,a single battery monitor circuit 120 may be disposed within andassociated with a single monobloc (see battery 100), as illustrated inFIG. 1A. In another exemplary embodiment, a single battery monitorcircuit 120 may be coupled to and associated with a single monobloc (seebattery 100), as illustrated in FIG. 1B. In another exemplaryembodiment, multiple batteries 100, each having a battery monitorcircuit 120 disposed therein, may be disposed within and comprise aportion of a single battery 200, as illustrated in FIG. 2A. In anotherexemplary embodiment, a single battery monitor circuit 120 may beexternally coupled to and associated with a single battery 200, asillustrated in FIG. 2B. In yet another exemplary embodiment, more thanone battery monitor circuit 120 is disposed within and connected to oneor more portions of a single battery. For example, a first batterymonitor circuit could be disposed within and connected to a firstmonobloc of the battery and a second battery monitor circuit could bedisposed within and connected to a second monobloc of the battery. Asimilar approach may be employed to associate multiple battery monitorcircuits 120 that are externally coupled to a battery.

The battery monitor circuit 120 may comprise a voltage sensor 130, atemperature sensor 140, a processor 150, a transceiver 160, an antenna170, and a storage medium or memory (not shown in the Figures). In anexemplary embodiment, a battery monitor circuit 120 is configured tosense a voltage and temperature associated with a monobloc or battery100/200, to store the sensed voltage and temperature in the memorytogether with an associated time of these readings, and to transmit thevoltage and temperature data (with their associated time) from thebattery monitor circuit 120 to one or more external locations.

In an exemplary embodiment, the voltage sensor 130 may be electricallyconnected by a wire to a positive terminal 101/201 of the battery100/200 and by a wire to a negative terminal 102/202 of the battery100/200. In an exemplary embodiment, the voltage sensor 130 isconfigured to sense a voltage of the battery 100/200. For example, thevoltage sensor 130 may be configured to sense the voltage between thepositive terminal 101/201 and the negative terminal 102/202. In anexemplary embodiment, the voltage sensor 130 comprises an analog todigital converter. However, any suitable device for sensing the voltageof the battery 100/200 may be used.

In an exemplary embodiment, the temperature sensor 140 is configured tosense a temperature measurement of the battery 100/200. In one exemplaryembodiment, the temperature sensor 140 may be configured to sense atemperature measurement at a location in or inside of the battery100/200. The location where the temperature measurement is taken can beselected such that the temperature measurement is reflective of thetemperature of the electrochemical cells comprising battery 100/200. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the temperature sensor 140 may beconfigured to sense a temperature measurement at a location on oroutside of the battery 100/200. The location where the temperaturemeasurement is taken can be selected such that the temperaturemeasurement primarily reflects the temperature of the electrochemicalcells comprising battery 100/200 itself and only indirectly,secondarily, or less significantly is influenced by neighboringbatteries or environmental temperature. In various exemplaryembodiments, the battery monitor circuit 120 is configured to be locatedinside of the battery 100/200. Moreover, in various exemplaryembodiments the presence of battery monitor circuit 120 within battery100/200 may not be visible or detectable via external visual inspectionof battery 100/200. In other exemplary embodiments, the battery monitorcircuit 120 is configured to be located outside of the battery 100/200,for example attached to a battery 100/200, electrically connected bywire to battery 100/200, and/or configured to move with battery 100/200so as to remain electrically connected to the positive and negativeterminals of battery 100/200.

In an exemplary embodiment, the temperature sensor 140 may be configuredto sense the temperature measurement at a location on or outside of thebattery 100/200. The location where the temperature measurement is takencan be selected such that the temperature measurement primarily reflectsthe temperature of the battery 100/200 itself and only indirectly,secondarily, or less significantly is influenced by neighboringmonoblocs or environmental temperature. In an exemplary embodiment, thetemperature sensor 140 comprises a thermocouple, a thermistor, atemperature sensing integrated circuit, and/or the like. In certainexemplary embodiments, the temperature sensor 140 is embedded in theconnection of battery monitor circuit 120 to the positive or negativeterminal of the battery 100/200.

In an exemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 comprises aprinted circuit board for supporting and electrically coupling a voltagesensor, temperature sensor, processor, storage medium, transceiver,antenna, and/or other suitable components. In another exemplaryembodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 includes a housing (notshown). The housing can be made of any suitable material for protectingthe electronics in the battery monitor circuit 120, for example adurable plastic. The housing can be made in any suitable shape or formfactor. In an exemplary embodiment, the housing of battery monitorcircuit 120 is configured to be externally attached to or disposedinside battery 100/200, and may be secured, for example via adhesive,potting material, bolts, screws, clamps, and/or the like. Moreover, anysuitable attachment device or method can be used to keep the batterymonitor circuit 120 in a desired position and/or orientation on, near,and/or within battery 100/200. In this manner, as battery 100/200 istransported, installed, utilized, and so forth, battery monitor circuit120 remains securely disposed therein and/or coupled thereto, and thusoperable in connection therewith. For example, battery monitor circuit120 may not be directly attached to battery 100/200, but may bepositioned adjacent thereto such that it moves with the battery. Forexample, battery monitor circuit 120 may be coupled to the frame or bodyof an industrial forklift containing battery 100/200.

In an exemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 furthercomprises a real-time clock capable of maintaining time referenced to astandard time such as Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), independent ofany connection (wired or wireless) to an external time standard such asa time signal accessible via a public network such as the Internet. Theclock is configured to provide the current time/date (or a relativetime) to the processor 150. In an exemplary embodiment, the processor150 is configured to receive the voltage and temperature measurement andto store, in the storage medium, the voltage and temperature dataassociated with the time that the data was sensed/stored. In anexemplary embodiment, the voltage, temperature and time data may bestored in a storage medium in the form of a database, a flat file, ablob of binary, or any other suitable format or structure. Moreover, theprocessor 150 may be configured to store additional data in a storagemedium in the form of a log. For example, the processor may log eachtime the voltage and/or temperature changes by a settable amount. In anexemplary embodiment, the processor 150 compares the last measured datato the most recent measured data, and logs the recent measured data onlyif it varies from the last measured data by at least this settableamount. The comparisons can be made at any suitable interval, forexample every second, every 5 seconds, every 10 seconds, every 30seconds, every minute, every 10 minutes, and/or the like. The storagemedium may be located on the battery monitor circuit 120, or may beremote. The processor 150 may further be configured to transmit(wirelessly or by wired connection) the logged temperature/voltage datato a remote device for additional analysis, reporting, and/or action. Inan exemplary embodiment, the remote device may be configured to stitchthe transmitted data log together with the previously transmitted logs,to form a log that is continuous in time. In this manner, the size ofthe log (and the memory required to store it) on the battery monitorcircuit 120 can be minimized. The processor 150 may further beconfigured to receive instructions from a remote device. The processor150 may also be configured to transmit the time, temperature and voltagedata off of the battery monitor circuit 120 by providing the data in asignal to the transceiver 160.

In another exemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 isconfigured without a real-time clock. Instead, data is sampled on aconsistent time interval controlled by the processor 150. Each intervalis numbered sequentially with a sequence number to uniquely identify it.Sampled data may all be logged; alternatively, only data which changesmore than a settable amount may be logged. Periodically, when thebattery monitor circuit 120 is connected to a time standard, such as thenetwork time signal accessible via the Internet, the processor time issynchronized with real-time represented by the time standard. However,in both cases, the interval sequence number during which the data wassampled is also logged with the data. This then fixes the time intervalbetween data samples without the need for a real-time clock on batterymonitor circuit 120. Upon transmission of the data log to a remotedevice, the intervals are synchronized with the remote device (describedfurther herein), which maintains real time (e.g., UTC), for examplesynchronized over an Internet connection. Thus, the remote device isconfigured to provide time via synchronization with the battery monitorcircuit 120 and processor 150. The data stored at the battery monitorcircuit 120 or at the remote device may include the cumulative amount oftime a monobloc has spent at a particular temperature and/or voltage.The processor 150 may also be configured to transmit the cumulativetime, temperature and voltage data from the battery monitor circuit 120by providing the data in a signal to the transceiver 160.

In an exemplary embodiment, the time, temperature and voltage data for abattery may be stored in a file, database or matrix that, for example,comprises a range of voltages on one axis and a range of temperatures ona second axis, wherein the cells of this table are configured toincrement a counter in each cell to represent the amount of time abattery has spent in a particular voltage/temperature state (i.e., toform a battery operating history matrix). The battery operating historymatrix can be stored in the memory of battery monitor circuit 120 and/orin a remote device. For example, and with brief reference to FIG. 4C, anexample battery operating history matrix 450 may comprise columns 460,with each column representing a particular voltage or range of voltagemeasurements. For example, the first column may represent a voltagerange from 0 volts to 1 volt, the second column may represent a voltagerange from 1 volt to 9 volts, the third column may represent a voltagerange from 9 volts to 10 volts, and so forth. The battery operatinghistory matrix 450 may further comprise rows 470, with each rowrepresenting a particular temperature (+/−) or range of temperaturemeasurements. For example, the first row may represent a temperatureless than 10° C., the second row may represent a temperature range from10° C. to 20° C., the third row may represent a temperature range from20° C. to 30° C., and so forth. Any suitable scale and number ofcolumns/rows can be used. In an exemplary embodiment, the batteryoperating history matrix 450 stores a cumulative history of the amountof time the battery has been in each designated voltage/temperaturestate. In other words, the battery operating history matrix 450aggregates (or correlates) the amount of time the battery has been in aparticular voltage/temperature range. In particular, such a system isparticularly advantageous because the storage size does not increase (orincreases only a marginal amount) regardless of how long it recordsdata. The memory occupied by the battery operating history matrix 450 isoften the same size the first day it begins aggregatingvoltage/temperature data as its size years later or near a battery's endof life. It will be appreciated that this technique reduces, compared toimplementations that do not use this technique, the size of the memoryand the power required to store this data, thus significantly improvingthe operation of the battery monitor circuit 120 computing device.Moreover, battery voltage/temperature data may be transmitted to aremote device on a periodic basis. This effectively gates the data, and,relative to non-gating techniques, reduces the power required to storedata and transmit data, reduces the size of the memory, and reduces thedata transmission time.

In an exemplary embodiment, the transceiver 160 may be any suitabletransmitter and/or receiver. For example, the transceiver 160 may beconfigured to up-convert the signal to transmit the signal via theantenna 170 and/or to receive a signal from the antenna 170 anddown-convert the signal and provide it to the processor 150. In anexemplary embodiment, the transceiver 160 and/or the antenna 170 can beconfigured to wirelessly send and receive signals between the batterymonitor circuit 120 and a remote device. The wireless transmission canbe made using any suitable communication standard, such as radiofrequency communication, WiFi, Bluetooth®, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE),Bluetooth Low Power (IPv6/6LoWPAN), a cellular radio communicationstandard (2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, 5G, etc.), and/or the like. In an exemplaryembodiment, the wireless transmission is made using low power, shortrange signals, to keep the power drawn by the battery monitor circuitlow. In one exemplary embodiment, the processor 150 is configured towake-up, communicate wirelessly, and go back to sleep on a schedulesuitable for minimizing or reducing power consumption. This is desirableto prevent monitoring of the battery via battery monitor circuit 120from draining the battery prematurely. The battery monitor circuit 120functions, such as waking/sleeping and data gating functions, facilitateaccurately sensing and reporting the temperature and voltage datawithout draining the battery 100/200. In various exemplary embodiments,the battery monitor circuit 120 is powered by the battery within whichit is disposed and/or to which it is coupled for monitoring. In otherexemplary embodiments, the battery monitor circuit 120 is powered by thegrid or another power supply, for example a local battery, a solarpanel, a fuel cell, inductive RF energy harvesting circuitry, and/or thelike.

In some exemplary embodiments, use of a Bluetooth protocol facilitates asingle remote device receiving and processing a plurality of signalscorrelated with a plurality of batteries (each equipped with a batterymonitor circuit 120), and doing so without signal interference. Thisone-to-many relationship between a remote device and a plurality ofbatteries, each equipped with a battery monitor circuit 120, is adistinct advantage for monitoring of batteries in storage and shippingchannels.

In an exemplary embodiment, battery monitor circuit 120 is locatedinternal to the battery. For example, battery monitor circuit 120 may bedisposed within a housing of battery 100. In various embodiments,battery monitor circuit 120 is located internal to a monobloc orbattery. Battery monitor circuit 120 may be hidden fromview/inaccessible from the outside of battery 100. This may preventtampering by a user and thus improve the reliability of the reportingperformed. Battery monitor circuit 120 may be positioned just below alid of battery 100, proximate the interconnect straps (leadinter-connecting bar), or the like. In this manner, temperature of amonobloc due to the electrochemical cells and heat output of theinterconnect straps can be accurately measured.

In another exemplary embodiment, battery monitor circuit 120 is locatedexternal to the battery. For example, battery monitor circuit 120 may beattached to the outside of battery 100/200. In another example, batterymonitor circuit 120 is located proximate to the battery 100/200, withthe voltage sensor 130 wired to the positive and negative terminals ofthe battery 100/200. In another exemplary embodiment, battery monitorcircuit 120 can be connected to the battery 100/200 so as to move withthe battery 100/200. For example, if battery monitor circuit 120 isconnected to the frame of a vehicle and the battery 100/200 is connectedto the frame of the vehicle, both will move together, and the voltageand temperature monitoring sensors 130 and 140 can continue to performtheir proper functions as the vehicle moves.

In an exemplary embodiment, temperature sensor 140 may be configured tosense a temperature of one of the terminals of a monobloc. In anotherexemplary embodiment, temperature sensor 140 may be configured tomeasure the temperature at a location or space between two monoblocs ina battery, the air temperature in a battery containing multiplemonoblocs, the temperature at a location disposed generally in themiddle of a wall of a monobloc, and/or the like. In this manner, thetemperature sensed by the battery monitor circuit 120 may be morerepresentative of the temperature of battery 100/200 and/or theelectrochemical cells therein. In some exemplary embodiments,temperature sensor 140 may be located on and/or directly coupled to theprinted circuit board of battery monitor circuit 120. Moreover, thetemperature sensor 140 may be located in any suitable location inside ofa monobloc or battery for sensing a temperature associated with themonobloc or battery. Alternatively, the temperature sensor 140 may belocated in any suitable location outside of a monobloc or battery forsensing a temperature associated with the monobloc or battery.

Thus, with reference now to FIG. 3, an exemplary method 300 formonitoring a battery 100/200 comprising at least one electrochemicalcell comprises: sensing a voltage of the battery 100/200 with a voltagesensor 130 wired to the battery terminals (step 302), and recording thevoltage and the time that the voltage was sensed in a storage medium(step 304); sensing a temperature associated with battery 100/200 with atemperature sensor 140 disposed within and/or on battery 100/200 (step306), and recording the temperature and the time that the temperaturewas sensed in the storage medium (step 308); and wired or wirelesslytransmitting the voltage, temperature and time data recorded in thestorage medium to a remote device (step 310). The voltage, temperature,and time data, together with other relevant data, may be assessed,analyzed, processed, and/or utilized as an input to various computingsystems, resources, and/or applications (step 312). In an exemplarymethod, the voltage sensor 130, temperature sensor 140, and storagemedium are located inside the battery 100 on a battery monitor circuit120. In another exemplary method, the voltage sensor 130, temperaturesensor 140, and storage medium are located outside the battery 100/200on a battery monitor circuit 120. Moreover, method 300 may comprisetaking various actions in response to the voltage, temperature, and/ortime data (step 314), for example charging a battery, discharging abattery, removing a battery from a warehouse, replacing a battery with anew battery, and/or the like.

With reference now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, in an exemplary embodiment, thebattery monitor circuit 120 is configured to communicate data with aremote device. The remote device may be configured to receive data froma plurality of batteries, with each battery equipped with a batterymonitor circuit 120. For example, the remote device may receive datafrom individual batteries 100, each connected to a battery monitorcircuit 120. And in another exemplary embodiment, the remote device mayreceive data from individual batteries 200, each battery 200 connectedto a battery monitor circuit 120.

An example system 400 is disclosed for collecting and using dataassociated with each battery 100/200. In general, the remote device isan electronic device that is not physically part of the battery 100/200or the battery monitor circuit 120. The system 400 may comprise a localportion 410 and/or a remote portion 420. The local portion 410 comprisescomponents located relatively near the battery or batteries 100/200.“Relatively near,” in one exemplary embodiment, means within wirelesssignal range of the battery monitor circuit antenna. In another exampleembodiment, “relatively near” means within Bluetooth range, within thesame cabinet, within the same room, and the like. The local portion 410may comprise, for example, one or more batteries 100/200, a batterymonitor circuit 120, and optionally a locally located remote device 414located in the local portion 410. Moreover, the local portion maycomprise, for example, a gateway. The gateway may be configured toreceive data from each battery 100/200. The gateway may also beconfigured to transmit instructions to each battery 100/200. In anexample embodiment, the gateway comprises an antenna fortransmitting/receiving wirelessly at the gateway and/or forcommunicating with a locally located remote device 414. The locallylocated remote device 414, in an exemplary embodiment, is a smartphone,tablet, or other electronic mobile device. In another exemplaryembodiment, the locally located remote device 414 is a computer, anetwork, a server, or the like. In a further exemplary embodiment, thelocally located remote device 414 is an onboard vehicle electronicssystem. Yet further, in some embodiments, the gateway may function aslocally located remote device 414. Exemplary communications, for examplebetween the gateway and locally located remote device 414, may be viaany suitable wired or wireless approach, for example via a Bluetoothprotocol.

In some exemplary embodiments, the remote device is not located in thelocal portion 410, but is located in the remote portion 420. The remoteportion 420 may comprise any suitable back-end systems. For example, theremote device in the remote portion 420 may comprise a computer 424(e.g., a desk-top computer, a laptop computer, a server, a mobiledevice, or any suitable device for using or processing the data asdescribed herein). The remote portion may further comprise cloud-basedcomputing and/or storage services, on-demand computing resources, or anysuitable similar components. Thus, the remote device, in variousexemplary embodiments, may be a computer 424, a server, a back-endsystem, a desktop, a cloud system, or the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 may beconfigured to communicate data directly between battery monitor circuit120 and the locally located remote device 414. In an exemplaryembodiment, the communication between the battery monitor circuit 120and the locally located remote device 414 can be a wirelesstransmission, such as via Bluetooth transmission. Moreover, any suitablewireless protocol can be used. In some embodiments where battery monitorcircuit 120 is external to battery 100/200, the communication can be bywire, for example by Ethernet cable, USB cable, twisted pair, and/or anyother suitable wire and corresponding wired communication protocol.

In an exemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 furthercomprises a cellular modem for communicating via a cellular network 418and other networks, such as the Internet, with the remote device. Forexample, data may be shared with the computer 424 or with the locallylocated remote device 414 via the cellular network 418. Thus, batterymonitor circuit 120 may be configured to send temperature and voltagedata to the remote device and receive communications from the remotedevice, via the cellular network 418 to other networks, such as theInternet, for distribution anywhere in the Internet connected world.

In various exemplary embodiments, the data from the local portion 410 iscommunicated to the remote portion 420. For example, data and/orinstructions from the battery monitor circuit 120 may be communicated toa remote device in the remote portion 420. In an exemplary embodiment,the locally located remote device 414 may communicate data and/orinstructions with the computer 424 in the remote portion 420. In anexemplary embodiment, these communications are sent over the Internet.The communications may be secured and/or encrypted, as desired, in orderto preserve the security thereof.

In an exemplary embodiment, these communications may be sent using anysuitable communication protocol, for example, via TCP/IP, WLAN, overEthernet, WiFi, cellular radio, or the like. In one exemplaryembodiment, the locally located remote device 414 is connected through alocal network by a wire to the Internet and thereby to any desiredremotely located remote device. In another exemplary embodiment, thelocally located remote device 414 is connected through a cellularnetwork, for example cellular network 418, to the Internet and therebyto any desired remotely located remote device.

In an exemplary embodiment, this data may be received at a server,received at a computer 424, stored in a cloud-based storage system, onservers, in databases, or the like. In an exemplary embodiment, thisdata may be processed by the battery monitor circuit 120, the locallylocated remote device 414, the computer 424, and/or any suitable remotedevice. Thus, it will be appreciated that processing and analysisdescribed as occurring in the battery monitor circuit 120 may also occurfully or partially in the battery monitor circuit 120, the locallylocated remote device 414, the computer 424, and/or any other remotedevice.

The remote portion 420 may be configured, for example, to display,process, utilize, or take action in response to, information regardingmany batteries 100/200 that are geographically dispersed from oneanother and/or that include a diverse or differing types, groups, and/orsets of batteries 100/200. The remote portion 420 can displayinformation about, or based on, specific individual battery temperatureand/or voltage. Thus, the system can monitor a large group of batteries100/200 located great distances from each other, but do so on anindividual battery level.

The remote portion 420 device may be networked such that it isaccessible from anywhere in the world. Users may be issued accesscredentials to allow their access to only data pertinent to batteriesowned or operated by them. In some embodiments, access control may beprovided by assigning a serial number to the remote device and providingthis number confidentially to the battery owner or operator to log into.

Voltage, temperature and time data stored in a cloud-based system may bepresented in various displays to convey information about the status ofa battery, its condition, its operating requirement(s), unusual orabnormal conditions, and/or the like. In one embodiment, data from onebattery or group of batteries may be analyzed to provide additionalinformation, or correlated with data from other batteries, groups ofbatteries, or exogenous conditions to provide additional information.

Systems and methods disclosed herein provide an economical means formonitoring the performance and health of batteries located anywhere inthe cellular radio or Internet connected world. As battery monitorcircuits 120 rely on only voltage, temperature and time data to perform(or enable performance of) these functions, cost is significantly lessthan various prior art systems which must monitor battery current aswell. Further, performance of calculations and analyses in a remotedevice, which is capable of receiving voltage, temperature and time datafrom a plurality of monitoring circuits connected to a plurality ofbatteries, rather than performing these functions at each battery in theplurality of batteries, minimizes the per battery cost to monitor anyone battery, analyze its performance and health, and display the resultsof such analyses. This allows effective monitoring of batteries,critical to various operations but heretofore not monitored because aneffective remote monitoring system was unavailable and/or the cost tomonitor batteries locally and collect data manually was prohibitive.Example systems allow aggregated remote monitoring of batteries in suchexample applications as industrial motive power (forklifts, scissorlifts, tractors, pumps and lights, etc.), low speed electric vehicles(neighborhood electric vehicles, electric golf carts, electric bikes,scooters, skateboards, etc.), grid power backup power supplies(computers, emergency lighting, and critical loads remotely located),marine applications (engine starting batteries, onboard power supplies),automotive applications, and/or other example applications (for example,engine starting batteries, over-the-road truck and recreational vehicleonboard power, and the like). This aggregated remote monitoring of likeand/or disparate batteries in like and/or disparate applications allowsthe analysis of battery performance and health (e.g., batterystate-of-charge, battery reserve time, battery operating mode, adversethermal conditions, and so forth), that heretofore was not possible.Using contemporaneous voltage and temperature data, stored voltage andtemperature data, and/or battery and application specific parameters(but excluding data regarding battery 100/200 current), the short termchanges in voltage and/or temperature, longer term changes in voltageand/or temperature, and thresholds for voltage and/or temperature may beused singularly or in combination to conduct exemplary analyses, such asin the battery monitor circuit 120, the locally located remote device414, the computer 424, and/or any suitable device. The results of theseanalyses, and actions taken in response thereto, can increase batteryperformance, improve battery safety and reduce battery operating costs.

While many of the embodiments herein have focused on electrochemicalcell(s) which are lead-acid type electrochemical cells, in otherembodiments the electrochemical cells may be of various chemistries,including but not limited to, lithium, nickel, cadmium, sodium and zinc.In such embodiments, the battery monitor circuit and/or the remotedevice may be configured to perform calculations and analyses pertinentto that specific battery chemistry.

In some example embodiments, via application of principles of thepresent disclosure, outlier batteries can be identified and alerts ornotices provided by the battery monitor circuit 120 and/or the remotedevice to prompt action for maintaining and securing the batteries. Thebatteries 100/200 may be made by different manufacturers, made usingdifferent types of construction or different types of cells. However,where multiple batteries 100/200 are constructed in similar manner andare situated in similar environmental conditions, the system may beconfigured to identify outlier batteries, for example batteries that arereturning different and/or suspect temperature and/or voltage data. Thisoutlier data may be used to identify failing batteries or to identifylocal conditions (high load, or the like) and to provide alerts ornotices for maintaining and securing such batteries. Similarly,batteries 100/200 in disparate applications or from disparatemanufacturers can be compared to determine which battery types and/ormanufacturers products perform best in any particular application.

In an exemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 and/or theremote device may be configured to analyze the data and take actions,send notifications, and make determinations based on the data. Thebattery monitor circuit 120 and/or the remote device may be configuredto show a present temperature for each battery 100/200 and/or a presentvoltage for each battery 100/200. Moreover, this information can beshown with the individual measurements grouped by temperature or voltageranges, for example for prompting maintenance and safety actions byproviding notification of batteries that are outside of a predeterminedrange(s) or close to being outside of such range.

Moreover, the battery monitor circuit 120 and/or the remote device candisplay the physical location of each battery 100/200 (as determined bythe battery monitor circuit 120) for providing inventory management ofthe batteries or for securing the batteries. In one exemplaryembodiment, the physical location information is determined by thebattery monitor circuit 120 using a cellular network. Alternatively,this information can be provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS)via a GPS receiver installed in the battery monitor circuit 120. Thislocation information can be stored with the voltage, temperature, andtime data. In another exemplary embodiment, the location data is sharedwirelessly with the remote device, and the remote device is configuredto store the location data. The location data may be stored inconjunction with the time, to create a travel history (location history)for the monobloc that reflects where the monobloc or battery has beenover time.

Moreover, the remote device can be configured to create and/or sendnotifications based on the data. For example, a notification can bedisplayed if, based on analysis in the battery monitor circuit and/orthe remote device a specific monobloc is over voltage, the notificationcan identify the specific monobloc that is over voltage, and the systemcan prompt maintenance action. Notifications may be sent via anysuitable system or means, for example via e-mail, SMS message, telephonecall, in-application prompt, or the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, where the battery monitor circuit 120 hasbeen disposed within (or coupled externally to) and connected to abattery 100/200, the system provides inventory and maintenance servicesfor the battery 100/200. For example, the system may be configured todetect the presence of a monobloc or battery in storage or transit,without touching the monobloc or battery. The battery monitor circuit120 can be configured, in an exemplary embodiment, for inventorytracking in a warehouse. In one exemplary embodiment, the batterymonitor circuit 120 transmits location data to the locally locatedremote device 414 and/or a remotely located remote device and back-endsystem configured to identify when a specific battery 100/200 has leftthe warehouse or truck, for example unexpectedly. This may be detected,for example, when battery monitor circuit 120 associated with thebattery 100/200 ceases to communicate voltage and/or temperature datawith the locally located remote device 414 and/or back end system, whenthe battery location is no longer where noted in a location database, orwhen the wired connection between the monobloc or battery and thebattery monitor circuit 120 is otherwise severed. The remote back endsystem is configured, in an exemplary embodiment, to trigger an alertthat a battery may have been stolen. The remote back end system may beconfigured to trigger an alert that a battery is in the process of beingstolen, for example as successive monoblocs in a battery stop (or lose)communication or stop reporting voltage and temperature information. Inan exemplary embodiment, a remote back end system may be configured toidentify if the battery 100/200 leaves a warehouse unexpectedly and, inthat event, to send an alarm, alert, or notification. In anotherembodiment wherein the battery monitor circuit 120 communicates via acellular network with a remote device, the actual location of thebattery can be tracked and a notification generated if the batterytravels outside a predefined geo-fenced area. These various embodimentsof theft detection and inventory tracking are unique as compared toprior approaches, for example, because they can occur at greaterdistance than RFID type querying of individual objects, and thus canreflect the presence of objects that are not readily observable (e.g.,inventory stacked in multiple layers on shelves or pallets) where RFIDwould not be able to provide similar functionality.

In some exemplary embodiments, the remote device (e.g., the locallylocated remote device 414) is configured to remotely receive dataregarding the voltage and temperature of each battery 100/200. In anexemplary embodiment, the remote device is configured to remotelyreceive voltage, temperature, and time data from each battery monitorcircuit 120 associated with each battery 100/200 of a plurality ofbatteries. These batteries may, for example, be inactive ornon-operational. For example, these batteries may not yet have beeninstalled in an application, connected to a load, or put in service. Thesystem may be configured to determine which batteries need re-charging.These batteries may or may not be contained in shipping packaging.However, because the data is received and the determination is maderemotely, the packaged batteries do not need to be unpackaged to receivethis data or make the determination. So long as the battery monitorcircuit 120 is disposed within (or coupled externally to) and connectedto these batteries, these batteries may be located in a warehouse, in astorage facility, on a shelf, or on a pallet, but the data can bereceived and the determination made without unpacking, unstacking,touching or moving any of the plurality of batteries. These batteriesmay even be in transit, such as on a truck or in a shipping container,and the data can be received and the determination made during suchtransit. Thereafter, at an appropriate time, for example upon unpackinga pallet, the battery or batteries needing re-charging may be identifiedand charged.

In a further exemplary embodiment, the process of “checking” a batterymay be described herein as receiving voltage data and temperature data(and potentially, time data) associated with a battery, and presentinginformation to a user based on this data, wherein the informationpresented is useful for making a determination or assessment about thebattery. In an exemplary embodiment, the remote device is configured toremotely “check” each battery 100/200 of a plurality of batteriesequipped with battery monitor circuit 120. In this exemplary embodiment,the remote device can receive wireless signals from each of theplurality of batteries 100/200, and check the voltage and temperature ofeach battery 100/200. Thus, in these exemplary embodiments, the remotedevice can be used to quickly interrogate a pallet of batteries that areawaiting shipment to determine if any battery needs to be re-charged,how long until a particular battery will need to be re-charged, or ifany state of health issues are apparent in a particular battery, allwithout un-packaging or otherwise touching the pallet of batteries. Thischecking can be performed, for example, without scanning, pinging,moving or individually interrogating the packaging or batteries, butrather based on the battery monitor circuit 120 associated with eachbattery 100/200 wirelessly reporting the data to the remote device(e.g., 414/424).

In an exemplary embodiment, the battery 100/200 is configured toidentify itself electronically. For example, the battery 100/200 may beconfigured to communicate a unique electronic identifier (unique serialnumber, or the like) from the battery monitor circuit 120 to the remotedevice, the cellular network 418, or the locally located remote device414. This serial number may be correlated with a visible batteryidentifier (e.g., label, barcode, QR code, serial number, or the like)visible on the outside of the battery, or electronically visible bymeans of a reader capable of identifying a single battery in a group ofbatteries. Therefore, the system 400 may be configured to associatebattery data from a specific battery with a unique identifier of thatspecific battery. Moreover, during installation of a monobloc, forexample battery 100, in a battery 200, an installer may enter into adatabase associated with system 400 various information about themonobloc, for example relative position (e.g., what battery, whatstring, what position on a shelf, the orientation of a cabinet, etc.).Similar information may be entered into a database regarding a battery100/200.

Thus, if the data indicates a battery of interest (for example, one thatis performing subpar, overheating, discharged, etc.), that particularbattery can be singled out for any appropriate action. Stated anotherway, a user can receive information about a specific battery (identifiedby the unique electronic identifier), and go directly to that battery(identified by the visible battery identifier) to attend to any needs itmay have (perform “maintenance”). For example, this maintenance mayinclude removing the identified battery from service, repairing theidentified battery, charging the identified battery, etc. In a specificexemplary embodiment, a battery 100/200 may be noted as needing to bere-charged, a warehouse employee could scan the batteries on the shelvesin the warehouse (e.g., scanning a QR code on each battery 100/200) tofind the battery of interest and then recharge it. In another exemplaryembodiment, as the batteries are moved to be shipped, and the packagecontaining the battery moves along a conveyor, past a reader, thelocally located remote device 414 can be configured to retrieve the dataon that specific battery, including the unique electronic identifier,voltage and temperature, and alert if some action needs to be taken withrespect to it (e.g., if the battery needs to be recharged beforeshipment).

In an exemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 itself, theremote device and/or any suitable storage device can be configured tostore the battery operation history of the individual battery 100/200through more than one phase of the battery's life. In an exemplaryembodiment, the history of the battery can be recorded. In an exemplaryembodiment, the battery may further record data after it is integratedinto a product or placed in service (alone or in a battery). The batterymay record data after it is retired, reused in a second lifeapplication, and/or until it is eventually recycled or disposed.

Although sometimes described herein as storing this data on the batterymonitor circuit 120, in a specific exemplary embodiment, the historicaldata is stored remotely from the battery monitor circuit 120. Forexample, the data described herein can be stored in one or moredatabases remote from the battery monitor circuit 120 (e.g., in acloud-based storage offering, at a back-end server, at the gateway,and/or on one or more remote devices).

The system 400 may be configured to store, during one or more of theaforementioned time periods, the history of how the battery has beenoperated, the environmental conditions in which it has been operated,and/or the society it has kept with other batteries, as may bedetermined based on the data stored during these time periods. Forexample, the remote device may be configured to store the identity ofother batteries that were electrically associated with the battery100/200, such as if two batteries are used together in one application.This shared society information may be based on the above describedunique electronic identifier and data identifying where (geographically)the battery is located. The remote device may further store when thebatteries shared in a particular operation.

This historical information, and the analyses that are performed usingit, can be based solely on the voltage, temperature and time data.Stated another way, current data is not utilized. As used herein, “time”may include the date, hour, minute, and/or second of avoltage/temperature measurement. In another exemplary embodiment, “time”may mean the amount of time that the voltage/temperature conditionexisted. In particular, the history is not based on data derived fromthe charge and discharge currents associated with the battery(s). Thisis particularly significant because it would be very prohibitive toconnect to and include a sensor to measure the current for each andevery monobloc, and an associated time each was sensed from theindividual battery, where there is a large number of monoblocs.

In various exemplary embodiments, system 400 (and/or components thereof)may be in communication with an external battery management system (BMS)coupled one or more batteries 100/200, for example over a common networksuch as the Internet. System 400 may communicate information regardingone or more batteries 100/200 to the BMS and the BMS may take action inresponse thereto, for example by controlling or modifying current intoand/or out of one or more batteries 100/200, in order to protectbatteries 100/200.

In an exemplary embodiment, in contrast to past solutions, system 400 isconfigured to store contemporaneous voltage and/or contemporaneoustemperature data relative to geographically dispersed batteries. This isa significant improvement over past solutions where there is nocontemporaneous voltage and/or contemporaneous temperature dataavailable on multiple monoblocs or batteries located in differentlocations and operating in different conditions. Thus, in the exemplaryembodiment, historical voltage and temperature data is used to assessthe condition of the monoblocs or batteries and/or make predictionsabout and comparisons of the future condition of the monobloc orbattery. For example, the system may be configured to make assessmentsbased on comparison of the data between the various monoblocs in abattery 200. For example, the stored data may indicate the number oftimes a monobloc has made an excursion out of range (over charge, overvoltage, over temperature, etc.), when such occurred, how long itpersisted, and so forth.

By way of contrast, it is noted that the battery monitor circuit 120 maybe located internal to the monobloc or within the monobloc. In anexemplary embodiment, the battery monitor circuit 120 is located suchthat it is not viewable/accessible from the outside of battery 100. Inanother example, battery monitor circuit 120 is located internal to thebattery 100 in a location that facilitates measurement of an internaltemperature of the battery 100. For example, the battery monitor circuit120 may measure the temperature in between two or more monoblocs, theouter casing temperature of a monobloc, or the air temperature in abattery containing multiple monoblocs. In other exemplary embodiments,the battery monitor circuit 120 may be located external to the monoblocor on the monobloc. In an exemplary embodiment, the battery monitorcircuit 120 is located such that it is viewable/accessible from theoutside of battery 100.

With reference now to FIG. 4D, in various exemplary embodiments abattery or batteries 100/200 having a battery monitor circuit 120disposed therein (or externally coupled thereto) may be coupled to aload and/or to a power supply. For example, battery 100/200 may becoupled to a vehicle to provide electrical energy for motive power.Additionally and/or alternatively, battery 100/200 may be coupled to asolar panel to provide a charging current for battery 100/200. Moreover,in various applications battery 100/200 may be coupled to an electricalgrid. It will be appreciated that the nature and number of systemsand/or components to which battery 100/200 is coupled may impact desiredapproaches for monitoring of battery 100/200, for example viaapplication of various methods, algorithms, and/or techniques asdescribed herein. Yet further, in various applications and methodsdisclosed herein, battery 100/200 is not coupled to any external load ora charging source, but is disconnected (for example, when sitting instorage in a warehouse).

For example, various systems and methods may utilize informationspecific to the characteristics of battery 100/200 and/or the specificapplication in which battery 100/200 is operating. For example, battery100/200 and application specific characteristics may include themanufacture date, the battery capacity, and recommended operatingparameters such as voltage and temperature limits. In an exampleembodiment, battery and application specific characteristics may be thechemistry of battery 100/200—e.g., absorptive glass mat lead acid,gelled electrolyte lead acid, flooded lead acid, lithium manganeseoxide, lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate, lithium nickelmanganese cobalt, lithium cobalt aluminum, nickel zinc, zinc air, nickelmetal hydride, nickel cadmium, and/or the like.

In an example embodiment, battery specific characteristics may be thebattery manufacturer, model number, battery capacity in ampere-hours(Ah), nominal voltage, float voltage, state of charge v. open circuitvoltage, state of charge, voltage on load, and/or equalized voltage, andso forth. Moreover, the characteristics can be any suitable specificcharacteristic of battery 100/200.

In various exemplary embodiments, application specific characteristicsmay identify the application as a cellular radio base station, anelectric forklift, an e-bike, and/or the like. More generally,application specific characteristics may distinguish betweengrid-coupled applications and mobile applications.

In various example embodiments, information characterizing battery100/200 can be input by: manually typing the information: into asoftware program running on a mobile device, into a web interfacepresented by a server to a computer or mobile device, or any othersuitable manual data entry method. In other example embodiments,information characterizing battery 100/200 can be selected from a menuor checklist (e.g., selecting the supplier or model of a battery from amenu). In other example embodiments, information can be received byscanning a QR code on the battery. In other example embodiments,information characterizing battery 100/200 can be stored in one or moredatabases (e.g., by the users providing an identifier that links to adatabase storing this information). For example, databases such asDepartment of Motor Vehicles, battery manufacturer and OEM databases,fleet databases, and other suitable databases may have parameters andother information useful for characterizing the application of a batteryor batteries 100/200. Moreover, the characteristics can be any suitableapplication specific characteristic.

In one example embodiment, if battery 100/200 is configured with abattery monitor circuit 120 therewithin or externally coupled thereto,battery and application specific characteristics can be programmed ontothe circuitry (e.g., in a battery parameters table). In this case, thesecharacteristics for each battery 100/200 travel with battery 100/200 andcan be accessed by any suitable system performing the analysis describedherein. In another example embodiment, the battery and applicationspecific characteristics can be stored remote from battery 100/200, forexample in the remote device. Moreover, any suitable method forreceiving information characterizing battery 100/200 may be used. In anexample embodiment, the information can be stored on a mobile device, ona data collection device (e.g., a gateway), or in the cloud. Moreover,exemplary systems and methods may be further configured to receive,store, and utilize specific characteristics related to a battery charger(e.g., charger manufacturer, model, current output, charge algorithm,and/or the like).

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processorfor storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processorfor inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memoryand accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memoryfor displaying information derived from digital data processed by theprocessor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used hereinmay include: temperature data, time data, voltage data, battery locationdata, battery identifier data, and/or like data useful in the operationof the system. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a computermay include an operating system (e.g., Windows offered by MicrosoftCorporation, MacOS and/or iOS offered by Apple Computer, Linux, Unix,and/or the like) as well as various conventional support software anddrivers typically associated with computers.

The present system or certain part(s) or function(s) thereof may beimplemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof, and maybe implemented in one or more computer systems or other processingsystems. However, the manipulations performed by embodiments were oftenreferred to in terms, such as matching or selecting, which are commonlyassociated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No suchcapability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases,in any of the operations described herein. Rather, the operations may bemachine operations, or any of the operations may be conducted orenhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning. Usefulmachines for performing certain algorithms of various embodimentsinclude general purpose digital computers or similar devices.

In fact, in various embodiments, the embodiments are directed toward oneor more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionalitydescribed herein. The computer system includes one or more processors,such as a processor for managing monoblocs. The processor is connectedto a communication infrastructure (e.g., a communications bus,cross-over bar, or network). Various software embodiments are describedin terms of this computer system. After reading this description, itwill become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how toimplement various embodiments using other computer systems and/orarchitectures. A computer system can include a display interface thatforwards graphics, text, and other data from the communicationinfrastructure (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on adisplay unit.

A computer system also includes a main memory, such as for examplerandom access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory orin-memory (non-spinning) hard drives. The secondary memory may include,for example, a hard disk drive and/or a removable storage drive,representing a disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive,etc. The removable storage drive reads from and/or writes to a removablestorage unit in a well-known manner. Removable storage unit represents adisk, magnetic tape, optical disk, solid state memory, etc. which isread by and written to by removable storage drive. As will beappreciated, the removable storage unit includes a computer usablestorage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.

In various embodiments, secondary memory may include other similardevices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system. Such devices may include, for example, aremovable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such may include aprogram cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in videogame devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) andassociated socket, and other removable storage units and interfaces,which allow software and data to be transferred from the removablestorage unit to a computer system.

A computer system may also include a communications interface. Acommunications interface allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system and external devices. Examples of communicationsinterface may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernetcard), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software and datatransferred via communications interface are in the form of signalswhich may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signalscapable of being received by a communications interface. These signalsare provided to communications interface via a communications path(e.g., channel). This channel carries signals and may be implementedusing wire, cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, aradio frequency (RF) link, wireless and other communications channels.

The terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” and“computer readable medium” are used to generally refer to media such asremovable storage drive and a hard disk. These computer program productsprovide software to a computer system.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory and/or secondary memory. Computer programs mayalso be received via a communications interface. Such computer programs,when executed, enable the computer system to perform certain features asdiscussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed,enable the processor to perform certain features of various embodiments.Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of thecomputer system.

In various embodiments, software may be stored in a computer programproduct and loaded into computer system using removable storage drive,hard disk drive or communications interface. The control logic(software), when executed by the processor, causes the processor toperform the functions of various embodiments as described herein. Invarious embodiments, hardware components such as application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs) may be utilized in place of software-basedcontrol logic. Implementation of a hardware state machine so as toperform the functions described herein will be apparent to personsskilled in the relevant art(s).

A web client includes any device (e.g., a personal computer) whichcommunicates via any network, for example such as those discussedherein. Such browser applications comprise Internet browsing softwareinstalled within a computing unit or a system to conduct onlinetransactions and/or communications. These computing units or systems maytake the form of a computer or set of computers, although other types ofcomputing units or systems may be used, including laptops, notebooks,tablets, hand held computers, personal digital assistants, set-topboxes, workstations, computer-servers, main frame computers,mini-computers, PC servers, pervasive computers, network sets ofcomputers, personal computers, kiosks, terminals, point of sale (POS)devices and/or terminals, televisions, or any other device capable ofreceiving data over a network. A web-client may run Internet Explorer orEdge offered by Microsoft Corporation, Chrome offered by Google, Safarioffered by Apple Computer, or any other of the myriad software packagesavailable for accessing the Internet.

Practitioners will appreciate that a web client may or may not be indirect contact with an application server. For example, a web client mayaccess the services of an application server through another serverand/or hardware component, which may have a direct or indirectconnection to an Internet server. For example, a web client maycommunicate with an application server via a load balancer. In variousembodiments, access is through a network or the Internet through acommercially-available web-browser software package.

A web client may implement security protocols such as Secure SocketsLayer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS). A web client mayimplement several application layer protocols including http, https,ftp, and sftp. Moreover, in various embodiments, components, modules,and/or engines of an example system may be implemented asmicro-applications or micro-apps. Micro-apps are typically deployed inthe context of a mobile operating system, including for example, iOSoffered by Apple Computer, Android offered by Google, Windows Mobileoffered by Microsoft Corporation, and the like. The micro-app may beconfigured to leverage the resources of the larger operating system andassociated hardware via a set of predetermined rules which govern theoperations of various operating systems and hardware resources. Forexample, where a micro-app desires to communicate with a device ornetwork other than the mobile device or mobile operating system, themicro-app may leverage the communication protocol of the operatingsystem and associated device hardware under the predetermined rules ofthe mobile operating system. Moreover, where the micro-app desires aninput from a user, the micro-app may be configured to request a responsefrom the operating system which monitors various hardware components andthen communicates a detected input from the hardware to the micro-app.

As used herein an “identifier” may be any suitable identifier thatuniquely identifies an item, for example a battery 100/200. For example,the identifier may be a globally unique identifier.

As used herein, the term “network” includes any cloud, cloud computingsystem or electronic communications system or method which incorporateshardware and/or software components. Communication among the parties maybe accomplished through any suitable communication channels, such as,for example, a telephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet,point of interaction device (point of sale device, smartphone, cellularphone, kiosk, etc.), online communications, satellite communications,off-line communications, wireless communications, transpondercommunications, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),virtual private network (VPN), networked or linked devices, keyboard,mouse and/or any suitable communication or data input modality.Moreover, although the system is frequently described herein as beingimplemented with TCP/IP communications protocols, the system may also beimplemented using IPX, APPLE®talk, IP-6, NetBIOS®, OSI, any tunnelingprotocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH), or any number of existing or futureprotocols. If the network is in the nature of a public network, such asthe Internet, it may be advantageous to presume the network to beinsecure and open to eavesdroppers. Specific information related to theprotocols, standards, and application software utilized in connectionwith the Internet is generally known to those skilled in the art and, assuch, need not be detailed herein. See, for example, Dilip Naik,Internet Standards and Protocols (1998); JAVA® 2 Complete, variousauthors, (Sybex 1999); Deborah Ray and Eric Ray, Mastering HTML 4.0(1997); and Loshin, TCP/IP Clearly Explained (1997) and David Gourleyand Brian Totty, HTTP, The Definitive Guide (2002), the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference (except for any subjectmatter disclaimers or disavowals, and except to the extent that theincorporated material is inconsistent with the express disclosureherein, in which case the language in this disclosure controls). Thevarious system components may be independently, separately orcollectively suitably coupled to the network via data links.

“Cloud” or “cloud computing” includes a model for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may includelocation-independent computing, whereby shared servers provideresources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand.For more information regarding cloud computing, see the NIST's (NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computingavailable at https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-145 (last visited July2018), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As used herein, “transmit” may include sending electronic data from onesystem component to another over a network connection. Additionally, asused herein, “data” may include encompassing information such ascommands, queries, files, data for storage, and the like in digital orany other form.

The system contemplates uses in association with web services, utilitycomputing, pervasive and individualized computing, security and identitysolutions, autonomic computing, cloud computing, commodity computing,mobility and wireless solutions, open source, biometrics, grid computingand/or mesh computing.

Any databases discussed herein may include relational, hierarchical,graphical, blockchain, object-oriented structure and/or any otherdatabase configurations. Common database products that may be used toimplement the databases include DB2 by IBM® (Armonk, N.Y.), variousdatabase products available from ORACLE® Corporation (Redwood Shores,Calif.), MICROSOFT® Access® or MICROSOFT® SQL Server® by MICROSOFT®Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), MySQL by MySQL AB (Uppsala, Sweden),MongoDB®, Redis®, Apache Cassandra®, HBase by APACHE®, MapR-DB, or anyother suitable database product. Moreover, the databases may beorganized in any suitable manner, for example, as data tables or lookuptables. Each record may be a single file, a series of files, a linkedseries of data fields or any other data structure.

Any database discussed herein may comprise a distributed ledgermaintained by a plurality of computing devices (e.g., nodes) over apeer-to-peer network. Each computing device maintains a copy and/orpartial copy of the distributed ledger and communicates with one or moreother computing devices in the network to validate and write data to thedistributed ledger. The distributed ledger may use features andfunctionality of blockchain technology, including, for example,consensus based validation, immutability, and cryptographically chainedblocks of data. The blockchain may comprise a ledger of interconnectedblocks containing data. The blockchain may provide enhanced securitybecause each block may hold individual transactions and the results ofany blockchain executables. Each block may link to the previous blockand may include a timestamp. Blocks may be linked because each block mayinclude the hash of the prior block in the blockchain. The linked blocksform a chain, with only one successor block allowed to link to one otherpredecessor block for a single chain. Forks may be possible wheredivergent chains are established from a previously uniform blockchain,though typically only one of the divergent chains will be maintained asthe consensus chain. In various embodiments, the blockchain mayimplement smart contracts that enforce data workflows in a decentralizedmanner. The system may also include applications deployed on userdevices such as, for example, computers, tablets, smartphones, Internetof Things devices (“IoT” devices), etc. The applications may communicatewith the blockchain (e.g., directly or via a blockchain node) totransmit and retrieve data. In various embodiments, a governingorganization or consortium may control access to data stored on theblockchain. Registration with the managing organization(s) may enableparticipation in the blockchain network.

Data transfers performed through the blockchain-based system maypropagate to the connected peers within the blockchain network within aduration that may be determined by the block creation time of thespecific blockchain technology implemented. The system also offersincreased security at least partially due to the relative immutablenature of data that is stored in the blockchain, reducing theprobability of tampering with various data inputs and outputs. Moreover,the system may also offer increased security of data by performingcryptographic processes on the data prior to storing the data on theblockchain. Therefore, by transmitting, storing, and accessing datausing the system described herein, the security of the data is improved,which decreases the risk of the computer or network from beingcompromised.

In various embodiments, the system may also reduce databasesynchronization errors by providing a common data structure, thus atleast partially improving the integrity of stored data. The system alsooffers increased reliability and fault tolerance over traditionaldatabases (e.g., relational databases, distributed databases, etc.) aseach node operates with a full copy of the stored data, thus at leastpartially reducing downtime due to localized network outages andhardware failures. The system may also increase the reliability of datatransfers in a network environment having reliable and unreliable peers,as each node broadcasts messages to all connected peers, and, as eachblock comprises a link to a previous block, a node may quickly detect amissing block and propagate a request for the missing block to the othernodes in the blockchain network.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for determining a reserve timeof one or more monobloc. The determined reserve time may be used toidentify whether a monobloc should be replaced. An exemplary methodincludes measuring a temperature and a voltage of a monobloc or one ormore of a plurality of monoblocs, transmitting that data from thetemperature and voltage sensor to a receiver, transmitting the data fromthe receiver to a processor, and determining via the processor whetherthe battery has reached an end of its useful life and/or whether theactual reserve time of the battery (the time it is capable of powering aconnected load) is less than or equal to a minimum required reservetime. The voltage and temperature sensors may be located on a batterymonitoring circuit which may be embedded into, or attached to, abattery.

As used herein, a battery may refer to a single monobloc or multiplemonoblocs connected together in series or parallel. The receiver andprocessor may be located together on a single remote device, or may belocated on multiple remote devices. The remote device(s) may be locallylocated remote devices (i.e., located within a predetermined distance ofthe battery monitor circuit, such as in a same room) or remotely locatedremote devices (i.e., located greater than the predetermined distanceaway, such as in a cloud).

In some embodiments, the remote device may be configured to accuratelydetermine the reserve time of a battery, which may include multiplemonoblocs, based on data from each monobloc, not based on averages forthe battery. This makes it possible to accurately model the present andfuture performance of the battery based on its smallest component andopens the possibility of charging and discharging the batterydifferently based on the weakest monobloc of the battery. Moreover, aparticular monobloc may be identified and repaired or replaced asappropriate, extending battery life in the process, rather thanreplacing an entire battery that includes multiple monoblocs.

This may be particularly advantageous, for example, in cellular (cell)towers. Cell towers may be backed-up by battery power, and manybatteries that power cell towers include multiple monoblocs.Conventionally, batteries of cell towers are replaced after apredetermined amount of time has expired. However, using the presentsystems and methods, an operator may be capable of determining a currentreserve time of each monobloc of a battery used to power a cell tower.In that regard, replacement of the battery may only occur when one ormore monobloc has a reserve time that is less than a predeterminedreserve time, thus saving time and money. Furthermore, one or moremonobloc that has a reserve time that is less than the predeterminedreserve time may be identified and replaced (rather than replacing anentire battery), thus further saving money.

In some embodiments, a processor may be located in a remote device. Thecapability of a battery to provide a reserve time greater than a minimumrequired reserve time (i.e., a predetermined reserve time) may bedetermined by the remote device, based on a detected voltage and/or adetected temperature. Whether the battery has reached the end of itslife (i.e., whether the reserve time is less than or equal to thepredetermined reserve time) may be determined based on a float life anda cycle life of the battery. The float life and cycle life may also becalculated based on the voltage and/or temperature, as well as thelength of time the battery has been in operation.

If the remote device determines, based on its calculations, that thebattery has either reached the end of its life or the actual reservetime is less than or equal to the minimum reserve time, then the remotedevice may provide a signal to display a warning message about thehealth of the battery.

In some embodiments, the duration of time that the battery is capable ofsustaining its connected load (the “Reserve Time”) is calculated. Toaccomplish this, the remote device may be configured to establish aminimum Reserve Time, RT_(MIN), which is the predetermined reserve timeand may correspond to the lowest Reserve Time that the battery may reachbefore the remote device determines that the battery (or at least thecorresponding monobloc therein) should be replaced. In some embodiments,RT_(MIN) is established in the remote device by the battery owner. Insome embodiments, RT_(MIN) is established in the remote device by themanufacturer of the battery. In some embodiments, RT_(MIN) is set to adefault value. For example, RT_(MIN) may be set to a default value of 2hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, or the like.

In some embodiments, the remote device may also be configured tocalculate an estimated Reserve Time RT_(EST). In some embodiments,sufficient battery operating data may not yet be available to establishRT_(EST) and the remote device may display information such as “PendingDischarge” rather than displaying an estimated value.

In some embodiments (e.g., for a valve regulated lead acid battery),after the first deep discharge occurs, the remote device may calculatethe Reserve Time (“RT_(DIS)”) for that discharge. A deep discharge maybe defined as any discharge of a monobloc or battery that results in thestate of charge (SOC) of the monobloc or battery reaching or droppingbelow a predetermined SOC threshold. For example, a deep discharge mayinclude any discharge that causes the SOC to drop below 80%, or 70%, or50% SOC. In some embodiments, a deep discharge may be defined as anydischarge of a monobloc or battery that occurs for at least apredetermined period of time. For example, a deep discharge may includeany discharge that occurs for at least 30 continuous minutes, onecontinuous hour, or the like.

The processor of the remote device (or of a battery monitor circuit) mayemploy the following Equation 1 to calculate RT_(DIS). Equation 1 may beperformed for each monobloc of a battery, or for an entire battery thatincludes multiple monoblocs.

$\begin{matrix}{{RT}_{DIS} - {\frac{1}{\left( {1 - {SOC}_{EST}} \right)} \times {DIS}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1}\end{matrix}$

In Equation 1:

-   SOC_(EST)=−0.11373×V_(EOD) ³+4.23606×V_(EOD)    ²−51.85788×V_(EOD)+209.2765;-   RT_(DIS)=estimated Reserve Time in hours for a particular discharge;-   DIS=duration of the particular deep discharge in hours;-   V_(EOD)=end of discharge voltage;-   V_(PDAVE)=average voltage of the battery or monobloc; and-   V_(EOD)=V_(PDAVE) one minute prior to the termination of discharge    mode. V_(PDAVE), in an example embodiment, is defined as the average    of all of the valid voltage measurements reported by all the    monoblocs in a battery. It should be appreciated that the equation    coefficients for determining SOC_(EST) and the time at which V_(eod)    is measured can be set to various values based on the specific    battery involved.

In some embodiments, RT_(EST) may be calculated from a single deepdischarge by setting it equal to RT_(DIS) for that discharge. In someembodiments, RT_(EST) may be calculated from multiple deep discharges.In some embodiments, the remote device may further be configured tolimit the change in magnitude of RT_(EST) based off of any one deepdischarge to avoid large fluctuations in battery discharge current thatmay vary even with no change in actual battery capacity. In suchembodiments, the limit results in an averaging effect dampening theimpact on RT_(EST) due to variations in discharge current.

In some embodiments, the remote device may update the value of RT_(EST)upon each new deep discharge using the following Equation 2. Equation 2may be performed for each monobloc of a battery, or for an entirebattery that includes multiple monoblocs.

NewRT _(EST)=PreviousRT _(EST) ×ADJ _(DIS)  Equation 2:

In Equation 2:

-   NewRT_(EST)=A new value of Reserve Time updated using results of the    latest deep discharge;-   PreviousRT_(EST)=The value of RT_(EST) prior to the latest deep    discharge; and-   ADJ_(DIS)=Deep discharge adjustment factor for the current deep    discharge (as discussed more fully below).

In some embodiments, the deep discharge adjustment factor for thecurrent deep discharge may be calculated by the remote device usingEquation 7 below.

ADJ _(DIS)=1−(PreviousRT _(EST) −RT _(DIS))/PreviousRT _(EST)  Equation3:

In Equation 3:

-   RT_(DIS)=the reserve time of the current deep discharge.-   The deep discharge adjustment factor is calculated every time a deep    discharge occurs to facilitate the calculation of a new RT_(EST)    using that discharge adjustment factor.

In some embodiments, the initial value of ADJ_(EST) may be set to 1.00prior to the first deep discharge. In some embodiments, the firstcalculation of ADJ_(EST) after the first deep discharge calculated bythe remote device 412 may have a limited value. The first calculation ofADJ_(EST) calculated by the remote device 412 may be limited to a valuebetween 0 and 2. The first calculation of ADJ_(EST) calculated by theremote device may be limited to a value between 0.5 and 1.50. The firstcalculation of ADJ_(EST) calculated by the remote device may be limitedto a value between 0.7 and 1.30. The first calculation of ADJ_(EST)calculated by the remote device may be limited to a value between 0.8and 1.20. It should be appreciated that the value of ADJ_(EST) may beset within any range that allows outlying discharge currents to havelimited effect on the calculation of Reserve Time. In some embodiments,subsequent calculations of ADJ_(EST) calculated by the remote device maybe limited to similar ranges, or more restrictive ranges, for example,the value of ADJ_(EST) may be limited to values between 0.85 and 1.15for subsequent calculations.

In some embodiments, a voltage sensor may receive voltage informationfrom the battery. In some embodiments, the remote device may receivesuch voltage information from the voltage sensor. In some embodiments,the remote device may perform calculations relating to such voltageinformation to determine an estimated Reserve Time. In some embodiments,the remote device may establish a value for RT_(EST). In someembodiments, the value the remote device sets for RT_(EST) may be adefault value. In some embodiments, the value the remote device sets forRT_(EST) may be a calculated value based on information received from asensor. In some embodiments, the value set by the remote device forRT_(EST) may be displayed in the remote device. For example, theRT_(EST) may be displayed on a computer monitor at the remotely locatedremote device used by a service provider who installs and maintains thebatteries in the cell tower. Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a method 500for determining a reserve time of a monobloc, and whether one or moremonobloc of a battery should be replaced, is shown. In block 502, avoltage sensor may detect multiple voltages of a monobloc. For example,the voltage sensor may be part of a battery monitoring circuit and maybe embedded into, or attached to, a battery. The detected voltages mayinclude an end of discharge voltage, as discussed above and below.

In block 504, a duration of the deep discharge may be determined. Forexample, a processor may identify when the mode of the battery switchesto a discharge mode and may begin a timer to time the amount of timethat the battery is in the discharge mode. If the discharge satisfiesthe requirements of a deep discharge (e.g., if the discharge occurs fora predetermined period of time or the SOC of the battery drops below apredetermined SOC) then the processor may set the amount of time thatthe battery is in the discharge mode to be equal to the duration of thedeep discharge.

In block 506, the processor may estimate a SOC of the monobloc. Forexample, the processor may estimate the SOC as discussed above usingonly the voltage across the terminals of the monobloc.

In block 508, the processor may determine a mode of operation of themonobloc. In some embodiments, the processor may determine the mode ofoperation of the monobloc based on the voltage of the monobloc, withoutinformation about the current of the monobloc. In an example embodiment,the mode may include any of the following modes or states: Rest, Charge,Float, Discharge, Equalize, and Crank.

The Rest Mode indicates that the battery is disconnected from any powersupply, energy source, or any load. For example, a battery that isdisconnected from grid voltage and from any load is in Rest Mode. Also,a battery that is in storage in a warehouse or during shipment is inRest Mode.

The Charge Mode indicates that the battery is being charged. This mayoccur, for example, when grid power is restored to a battery in areserve application and it begins to receive energy from the grid, orwhen an engine is running in an automotive application and the startingbattery is receiving energy from an alternator, or when an industrialmotive power battery is physically plugged into its charger to restoreits energy after use.

The Float Mode indicates that the battery is connected to a powersource, such as to a power grid, and/or to a load, but has reached fullcharge. This may occur, for example when a battery in a reserveapplication is fully charged, and the power grid is providing all powerneeded by the load. In another example, a float mode may occur when anautomotive battery, previously in Charge Mode, becomes fully charged andthe remaining current from the engine alternator is not increasing thestored energy of the battery.

The Discharge Mode indicates that the battery is supplying energy to aload. For example, the Discharge Mode may occur when grid power is lostand a reserve power battery is required to provide power to the load, orwhen grid power is provided but provides insufficient electricity topower the load.

The Equalize Mode is a mode specifically designed where a plurality ofmonoblocs comprising a battery are deliberately overcharged to ensurethat all monoblocs in the plurality of monoblocs comprising the batteryare at full charge. The Equalize Mode is implemented by various means,depending on the chemistry of the battery. In some embodiments, forlead-acid batteries, a battery, previously in Float Mode, may have thevoltage of its connected power source increased for a period of time toovercharge the battery, ensuring that all monoblocs comprising thebattery have reached full charge.

The Crank Mode is applicable only to batteries operating in enginestarting applications. In this application, a battery may be in CrankMode while it is supplying the high power required to crank and startthe engine. Crank Mode may be considered a discharge mode in someembodiments.

In block 510, the processor may determine the end of discharge voltage.For example, the processor may determine that the end of dischargevoltage is the voltage detected by the voltage sensor a predeterminedamount of time before the mode changes away from the discharge mode toany of the other modes. For example, the predetermined amount of timemay be 30 seconds, one minute, two minutes, or the like.

In block 512, the processor may calculate a discharge reserve time. Forexample, the discharge reserve time may be calculated using an equationsimilar to Equation 1 above. The discharge reserve time may be based onthe end of discharge voltage, the duration of a deep discharge, a SOC ofthe monobloc, or the like.

In block 514, the processor may determine a deep discharge adjustmentfactor. For example, the deep discharge adjustment factor may becalculated using an equation similar to Equation 3 above.

In block 516, the processor may calculate an estimated reserve time. Forexample, the estimated reserve time may be calculated based on thedischarge reserve time and the deep discharge adjustment factor. Forexample, the estimated reserve time may be calculated using an equationsimilar to Equation 2 above.

In block 518, the processor may repeat the above blocks for multiplemonoblocs of a battery or a power system. For example, if a batteryincludes 20 monoblocs connected in series or parallel then the processormay repeat the above blocks for each of the 20 monoblocs to determine anestimated reserve time for each of the monoblocs.

In block 520, the processor may determine whether one or more of themultiple monoblocs should be replaced based on the estimated reservetimes. For example, the processor may compare the estimated reserve timeof each monobloc to a minimum reserve time. The minimum reserve time maybe stored on a battery monitor circuit or on a remote device and may beset by a customer of the battery, by a manufacturer of the battery, orthe like. If the estimated reserve time of a monobloc is less than orequal to the minimum reserve time then the processor may determine thatthe corresponding monobloc should be replaced. The processor may makethis determination for any monobloc whose estimated reserve time is lessthan or equal to the minimum reserve time.

In block 522, the processor may control an output device to output datacorresponding to the estimated reserve time. For example, the processormay output the discharge reserve times of each monobloc and/or theestimated reserve time of each monobloc, may output the minimum reservetime for each monobloc, may only output the estimated reserve timeand/or the minimum reserve time for monoblocs whose estimated reservetime is less than or equal to the minimum reserve time, may outputinformation indicating which monobloc should be replaced, may output anidentifier of monoblocs that should be replaced, or the like. Forexample, the RT_(EST) may be displayed on a computer monitor at theremotely located remote device used by a service provider who installsand maintains the batteries in the cell tower.

Principles of the present disclosure may be combined with and/orutilized in connection with principles disclosed in other applications.For example, principles of the present disclosure may be combined withprinciples disclosed in: U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed on July ______, 2018and entitled “BATTERY WITH INTERNAL MONITORING SYSTEM”; U.S. Ser. No.______ filed on July ______, 2018 and entitled “ENERGY STORAGE DEVICE,SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING AND PERFORMING DIAGNOSTICS ONBATTERIES”; U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed on July ______, 2018 and entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING A STATE OF CHARGE OF A DISCONNECTEDBATTERY”; U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed on July ______, 2018 and entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UTILIZING BATTERY OPERATING DATA”; U.S. Ser.No. ______ filed on July ______, 2018 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODSFOR UTILIZING BATTERY OPERATING DATA AND EXOGENOUS DATA”; U.S. Ser. No.______ filed on July ______, 2018 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORDETERMINING CRANK HEALTH OF A BATTERY”; U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed onJuly ______, 2018 and entitled “OPERATING CONDITIONS INFORMATION SYSTEMFOR AN ENERGY STORAGE DEVICE”; U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed on July______, 2018 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING ANOPERATING MODE OF A BATTERY”; U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed on July ______,2018 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING A STATE OF CHARGEOF A BATTERY”; U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed on July ______, 2018 andentitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING AND PRESENTING BATTERYINFORMATION”; U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed on July ______, 2018 andentitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING A HEALTH STATUS OF AMONOBLOC”; U.S. Ser. No. ______ filed on July ______, 2018 and entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTING BATTERY THEFT”; and U.S. Ser. No.______ filed on July ______, 2018 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORDETECTING THERMAL RUNAWAY OF A BATTERY”. The contents of each of theforegoing applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

In describing the present disclosure, the following terminology will beused: The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referentsunless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to an item includes reference to one or more items. The term“ones” refers to one, two, or more, and generally applies to theselection of some or all of a quantity. The term “plurality” refers totwo or more of an item. The term “about” means quantities, dimensions,sizes, formulations, parameters, shapes and other characteristics neednot be exact, but may be approximated and/or larger or smaller, asdesired, reflecting acceptable tolerances, conversion factors, roundingoff, measurement error and the like and other factors known to those ofskill in the art. The term “substantially” means that the recitedcharacteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, butthat deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances,measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factorsknown to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do notpreclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.Numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format.It is to be understood that such a range format is used merely forconvenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly toinclude not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limitsof the range, but also interpreted to include all of the individualnumerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if eachnumerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. As an illustration,a numerical range of “about 1 to 5” should be interpreted to include notonly the explicitly recited values of about 1 to about 5, but alsoinclude individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range.Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2,3 and 4 and sub-ranges such as 1-3, 2-4 and 3-5, etc. This sameprinciple applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value (e.g.,“greater than about 1”) and should apply regardless of the breadth ofthe range or the characteristics being described. A plurality of itemsmay be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these listsshould be construed as though each member of the list is individuallyidentified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual memberof such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any othermember of the same list solely based on their presentation in a commongroup without indications to the contrary. Furthermore, where the terms“and” and “or” are used in conjunction with a list of items, they are tobe interpreted broadly, in that any one or more of the listed items maybe used alone or in combination with other listed items. The term“alternatively” refers to selection of one of two or more alternatives,and is not intended to limit the selection to only those listedalternatives or to only one of the listed alternatives at a time, unlessthe context clearly indicates otherwise.

It should be appreciated that the particular implementations shown anddescribed herein are illustrative and are not intended to otherwiselimit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Furthermore, theconnecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein areintended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physicalcouplings between the various elements. It should be noted that manyalternative or additional functional relationships or physicalconnections may be present in a practical device or system.

It should be understood, however, that the detailed description andspecific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments, are given forpurposes of illustration only and not of limitation. Many changes andmodifications within the scope of the present disclosure may be madewithout departing from the spirit thereof, and the scope of thisdisclosure includes all such modifications. The correspondingstructures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all elements in theclaims below are intended to include any structure, material, or actsfor performing the functions in combination with other claimed elementsas specifically claimed. The scope should be determined by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples givenabove. For example, the operations recited in any method claims may beexecuted in any order and are not limited to the order presented in theclaims. Moreover, no element is essential unless specifically describedherein as “critical” or “essential.”

Moreover, where a phrase similar to ‘at least one of A, B, and C’ or ‘atleast one of A, B, or C’ is used in the claims or specification, it isintended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may bepresent in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, Calone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of theelements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example,A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of determining a reserve time of amonobloc, comprising: detecting, by a voltage sensor, an end ofdischarge voltage of the monobloc after a deep discharge of themonobloc; receiving, by a processor, the end of discharge voltage of themonobloc; determining or receiving, by the processor, a duration of thedeep discharge; and calculating, by the processor, a discharge reservetime of the monobloc based on the end of discharge voltage and theduration of the deep discharge.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising estimating, by the processor, a state of charge of themonobloc based on the end of discharge voltage, wherein calculating thedischarge reserve time further includes calculating the dischargereserve time based on the state of charge.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving, by the processor, multiple detectedvoltages over a period of time; determining, by the processor, a mode ofoperation of the monobloc based on at least two of the multiple detectedvoltages determining, by the processor, when the mode of operationchanges from a discharge mode to another mode; and determining, by theprocessor, that the end of discharge voltage is one of the multipledetected voltages that is detected a predetermined amount of time beforethe mode of operation of the monobloc changes away from the dischargemode.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating, by theprocessor, an estimated reserve time of the monobloc based on thedischarge reserve time of the monobloc.
 5. The method of claim 4,further comprising determining, by the processor, a deep dischargeadjustment factor for the deep discharge, wherein calculating theestimated reserve time of the monobloc is further based on the deepdischarge adjustment factor.
 6. The method of claim 4, whereincalculating the estimated reserve time of the monobloc is performed foreach of multiple monoblocs, further comprising determining, by theprocessor, whether one or more of the multiple monoblocs should bereplaced based on the estimated reserve time of the multiple monoblocs.7. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the multiple monoblocs areincluded in a single battery.
 8. The method of claim 4, whereincalculating the estimated reserve time of the monobloc is performed foreach of multiple discharges.
 9. A system for determining a reserve timeof a monobloc, comprising: a voltage sensor configured to detect an endof discharge voltage of the monobloc after a deep discharge of themonobloc; and a processor coupled to the voltage sensor and configuredto: receive the end of discharge voltage of the monobloc, determine orreceive a duration of the deep discharge, and calculate a dischargereserve time of the monobloc based on the end of discharge voltage andthe duration of the deep discharge.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein:the processor is further configured to estimate a state of charge of themonobloc based on the end of discharge voltage; and the processor isfurther configured to calculate the discharge reserve time based on thestate of charge.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: receive multiple detected voltages from thevoltage sensor over a period of time; determine a mode of operation ofthe monobloc based on at least two of the multiple detected voltages;determine when the mode of operation changes from a discharge mode toanother mode; and determine that the end of discharge voltage is one ofthe multiple detected voltages that is detected a predetermined amountof time before the mode of operation of the monobloc changes away fromthe discharge mode.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor isfurther configured to calculate an estimated reserve time of themonobloc based on the discharge reserve time of the monobloc.
 13. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein: the processor is further configured todetermine a deep discharge adjustment factor for the deep discharge; andthe processor is further configured to calculate the estimated reservetime of the monobloc further based on the deep discharge adjustmentfactor.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: calculate the estimated reserve time for each of multiplemonoblocs; and determine whether one or more of the multiple monoblocsshould be replaced based on the estimated reserve time of the multiplemonoblocs.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the multiplemonoblocs are included in a single battery.
 16. The system of claim 12,wherein the processor is configured to calculate the estimated reservetime of the monobloc for each of multiple discharges.
 17. A method ofdetermining a reserve time of a monobloc, comprising: detecting, by avoltage sensor, an end of discharge voltage of the monobloc after a deepdischarge of the monobloc; receiving, by a processor, the end ofdischarge voltage of the monobloc; determining or receiving, by theprocessor, a duration of the deep discharge; estimating, by theprocessor, a state of charge of the monobloc based on the end ofdischarge voltage; calculating, by the processor, a discharge reservetime of the monobloc based on the end of discharge voltage, the durationof the deep discharge, and the state of charge of the monobloc; andcalculating, by the processor, an estimated reserve time of the monoblocbased on the discharge reserve time of the monobloc.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, further comprising determining, by the processor, a deepdischarge adjustment factor for the deep discharge, wherein calculatingthe estimated reserve time of the monobloc is further based on the deepdischarge adjustment factor.
 19. The method of claim 17, whereincalculating the estimated reserve time of the monobloc is performed foreach of multiple monoblocs, further comprising determining, by theprocessor, whether one or more of the multiple monoblocs should bereplaced based on the estimated reserve time of the multiple monoblocs.20. The method of claim 17, wherein calculating the estimated reservetime of the monobloc is performed for each of multiple discharges.